AS Media Studies Research

1. Component 3
Media Key Concepts
Research
Name: Rayan

2. Meaning:
 Meaning is created through technical and symbolic codes such as camera shots/angles,
sound, color, mise-en-scene and editing. Symbolism is used to help create meaning as it
gives us a greater insight on characters, setting and different situations within a scene. It
can also add meaning that wouldn’t necessarily be very clear instantly recognized.
 Technical codes such as editing, and camera shots are highly important as they are used
to tell a story and can enhance a scene which adds meaning to it. If a camera was
positioned at a high angle, making the objector character photographed seem smaller
and less significant which could mean that they are vulnerable. Another example could
be sound. A score could be playing which could potentially intensify or give a scene a
dramatic effect depending on the score.
 Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a
character's actions show you how the character is feeling. Costumes, mise en scene,
setting… are all examples of symbolic codes. If a character is wearing a suit, we would
presume that they either are of higher class/wealthy or possibly have a job. Colors could
give us a deeper insight on the character, whereas if they have gold cufflinks/tie we
would know they are upper class. Another example would be if a character has frowning
facial expressions and narrowed eyes, like this image of the joker, we would know that
they are upset and have something on they're mind that’s making them feel that way

3. Camera shots and angles- technical codes
 Meaning is created through different camera shots and angles. Examples of
this are:

8. Editing techniques- technical codes
Editing techniques are used to make a scene more dramatic and powerful. They not only
enhance a scene but show us different perspectives and add meaning. Examples of this are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv93covb53w&t=3s

9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH4cNrUB4ss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m7SGjJo7c4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17UQz7ANv-o

10. Sound- technical codes
 There are different types of sounds used when making a film. Usually they are used
for a reason, whether it’s to make a scene more dramatic, creepy or fun. As well as
details that would make the scene feel more real.
 A score is the music playing throughout a scene. There are different types of score
such as instrumental, modern day songs, soft, loud, pleasant, unpleasant and many
more. If during a sad scene they add a soft score, it would enhance it by adding a
dramatic effect. Sometimes in horror films they play an unpleasant score in order to
increase tension and make the scene more terrifying.
 A Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. Conversations
between characters often provide critical moments of conflict or turning points, as
what they talk about often affects the decisions they make later. What the
characters communicate to each other often adds meaning to a scene
 Diegetic sound comes from within the scene like noise of cars, the wind and music
from a radio. An example would be the ‘psycho’ shower scene where the only
sound heard is the diegetic sound of the shower. Later the sound of the knife used
to kill the woman can be heard. These details give the scene more life.

11. Mise – en – scene
 Mise-en-scene is a term used to describe the setting of a scene in a play or a film.
It refers to everything placed on the stage or in front of the camera—including
people. Whether audiences realize it or not, there are many elements in plays and
in movies that help guide a viewer’s attention. Examples of mise-en-scene are
lighting, facial expressions, body language and props/costumes.
 Lighting can create meaning in various ways and clearly conveys moods. High-key
lighting, often used in romantic comedies, relies on hard light to minimize shadows.
Low-key lighting, often used in horror movies, features a high-contrast lighting
pattern to both brighten and darken parts of the frame which can give off a
dramatic, suspicious, or even scary effects.
 A gel is sometimes used which is placed Infront of the light. The different color gels,
give off different light colors. For example, if a blue gel is used, then the scene
would have blue light. Which can mean that it is nighttime or there is a sad
atmosphere. If red is used it could portray danger or evil.
 Different types of lighting equipment are also used such as a spotlight. They would
use a spotlight so the audience can mainly focus on the person its shining at.

12. Facial
expressions
Facial expressions make it clear to the audience what the
character is feeling. Different types of facial expressions are
conveyed such as:
 Sadness- area around mouth and eyes (for example
frowned lips and eyebrows are angled upward forming an
inverted ‘V’ above the nose)
 Happiness- round eyes, smiles, raised cheeks
 Fear: area around eyes, open mouth
 Anger: lower eyebrow and stare intensely
 Worried: slightly raised eyebrow, wide open eyes, mouth a
bit open mouth
 Disgust: wrinkled nose, lowered eyelids and eyebrow,
raised upper lip
All these are examples of common facial expressions we would
see on a character when watching a film. The characters
wouldn’t have to say anything but from expressions we would
infer what they are feeling.

13. Body
language
 Body language is a way characters express their emotions through their
physicality. We could tell a lot about them just by looking at their body
movement, posture and gestures.
 A character’s posture could reflect on their age and emotions. For example if a
character had a slightly angled posture, it could mean that they are old as they
tend to have back problems. However if a character doesn’t seem old, we
would infer that they are unhappy as they seem down.
 During dialogues characters could be using gestures when talking. These
gestures create meaning as it enhances what the character is trying to say. For
example, if a character is describing something, they feels guilty about,
gestures like tapping on their head would show the audience that the guilt
they are experiencing is greater then they are describing it to be.
 Body movement creates meaning as the characters wouldn’t be using any
gestures or change their posture to communicate to the audience what they
are feeling but simply through their pace and space. If a character is walking at
a fast pace, they are either in a rush to get somewhere or are just excited,
whereas, having a slow pace could mean a lot of things like being sad or
relaxed and the use of dramatic pauses can build tension and draw the
audience in.

14. Color symbolism
Color could add meaning to a scene and characters through various ways. If a character had a purple
costume, we would question their personality and social status. For example, royalty and having
dignity. If a character was wearing all black, we would assume they are evil, mysterious or have high
power. Different color lighting can be used to set a scene’s atmosphere. Blue lighting can give off a
sad mood to the audience, whereas red could communicate danger.
An example would be from a show
called ‘the Witcher’. In the show, there
is a character named Yennefer, a
powerful being that can do magic. She
dresses in all black clothing that define
her power and her being delay to
threats. She received her purple eyes
after a magic spell that fixed her looks,
which not only communicate that she
can do magic but has a passion for it
as well.

15. Props/costumes
 Costumes could reveal the date on which the scene is set, status of a
character and the event. For example, a character could be wearing a
black suit, white shirt and gold cufflinks. The audience would infer that
the character is wealthy. If a character is wearing an Edwardian dress,
we would infer that the scene is set in the early 1900s. Formal
costumes reveal that there might be an important event taking place.
Costumes could also tell us a lot about a character's personality.
 pops are the items held or used by actors onstage to make the action
more realistic. In harry potter, his main prop is his wand, and it defines
who he is. Similarly for ‘Aquaman’, his prop is a trident, and it defines
who he is

16. How meaning is created in
‘The Crown’
 The first scene of ‘The Crown” starts off with a man in the bathroom coughing uncontrollably. As the
camera pans into the bathroom it is a medium shot of the man at the toilet, which then cuts to a
close-up shot of him coughing, to a close-up of the blood in the toilet. This gives the audience a
sense that the man is sick. Through his surprised and unhappy facial expressions, it makes us think
that he is confused on why he is getting worse. He then quickly flushes the blood, making us think
that he is keeping it a secret. Lowkey lighting is used to show that it's a serious situation and create
tension as it gives off an ominous atmosphere. Diegetic sound of the man coughing is the only thing
we can hear. This enables the audience to focus mostly on the sound of the coughing to show us he is
not well. The title ‘Buckingham Palace’ shows us that the people we are seeing are important and of
high status/power.

17.  Meaning is also created through the scene where the woman is shown waiting for something. We can
tell that she is nervous by her facial expression and her body language. She's pacing around with her
arms crossed looking quite tense. This highlights the fact that she's anxious and nervous about the
event. Making her seem like an important character. As she is pacing around the room, we can hear
the dialogue of the event in the other room. The audience can then infer that the woman is anxious
and nervous because of the event in the other room. A medium shot of the woman quickly walking
away from view sight is used when the doors of the other room open. This puts her under the
impression that she couldn’t cope with watching it as it would make her more anxious.
 The ceremony happening in the other room is presented to the audience as important and gives us
recognition that the sick man is king. However, it seems to be an unwarm ceremony as no one looks
pleased except the duke. A tense score was playing as it begins and once the King walks in it begins to
get louder and it becomes more unknown what will happen. The camera shows a wide over the
shoulder shot to show everyone looking anxious as the king was stuttering when he was reading out
the speech for the Duke. Making him look at the sheet of paper to help him. This could show a sign of
weakness/being sick and almost as if he needs help doing his job as King of England. The facial
expression of people around the room are awkward and seem unhappy when the man receives the
award. When the King shakes the Duke's hand it is an awkward handshake - he pulls it towards him
and grabs it tighter. After the hand shake the King doesn't stick around for long, this could be showing
that the King doesn't really like the new royal Duke. the camera shows a wide over the shoulder shot
to show everyone looking anxious as the king was stuttering

18.  Lastly, through the relationship between the Duke and the woman we were able to see that one was
dominant and another subordinate. Through both characters' facial expressions, the duke and woman, we
can tell that the duke is more dominant in their relationship. When he kisses her, we can see the smile on his
face whereas the woman would look nervous. This makes us think that he has more confidence in contrast
to the woman. She also has a worried facial expression which shows us that their relationship may be
forbidden, or they are not married. A medium/close-up shot is used showing the woman look at the duke as
he is leaving the room. The audience would be focusing on her facial expressions where we can see her
smiling giving us the impression that she is in love with him. A score was playing which was getting louder
and louder until it cut to the credit scene. This puts the audience in suspense as they would want to know
why the woman was anxious, the king was sick, and no one was pleased with the ceremony.

19. Example- How
meaning is
created in this
short scene of
‘this is us’
 We can clearly recognize the emotions the characters are expressing in the
beginning of the short scene. The first camera shot is a long and wide shot
filmed at a high angle, which they specifically put as they're trying to show
the audience that the daughter and mom are in a vulnerable position. The
camera angle identifies that they are in a hospital which explains why they
would be worried. A long shot was used to show who will be in that scene
and to show a little bit of the background so we can kind of understand
they're location a bit more. As they are talking to each other, their worried
and upset facial expressions show that they wish they are feeling tense and
regretful. soft score increases gradually as they go in with their conversation
to increase the tension between the characters and implies that the
conversation is serious. The score also emphasizes on the sad atmosphere. At
the end of their conversation, the men come into the scene which continues
to use the same editing ideas, which are the cuts from the view of the girl
and the view of the corner of the room. When they meet you can see that
certain parts of the 'hugging' scenes go into slow motion. This is done show
the relief the characters have of seeing each other and it allows the viewer to
take in what is happening and give them a chance to understand it. When
the flashback is over, the woman in the house sees the woman from outside
comes inside it begins snapping from the over the shoulder shot to the end
of the corridor. score intensifies to build up more tension and as they hug,
the beat drops as if the tension is released, you can hear the diegetic sound
of the daughter cry and it just adds an upsetting and dramatic effect.
 https://youtu.be/eSYWbYUY86M-

20. How is meaning
created?
• In this image we can identify that it is a medium
shot showing us the two characters and
background. The older character is wearing a vest
and knee pads in contrast to the child who’s
wearing normal clothes. Both characters’ costumes
are dirty which could mean there was some sort of
action. The older character is positioned Infront of
the child, which gives us a sense that not only is he
in charge but is also protecting him. The setting
shows us a destroyed vehicle on fire behind them,
making it clear that there was destruction and
danger. The facial expressions of the characters let
us know what they are feeling. The child has his
mouth slightly open and his eyes a bit wide open,
meaning he is in disbelief, and the adult has his eyes
slightly narrowed as he is focusing on something.
All these details add meaning as we were able to
recognize that the characters went through some
dangerous action, the character with the vest was
protecting and leading the child as well as what the
characters were feeling from a single shot. This is a
use of technical codes and symbolic codes such as
camera shots and mese en scene.

21. How is meaning
created?
• In this image meaning is shown in various ways. It is a medium-close
up shot, showing both characters but equally wanting the viewers to
focus on their facial expressions. The girl is lying on floor with tears in her
eyes giving up the impression she is either hurt or might be dying and
the guy is holding her with worried and sad facial expressions which
could mean that he is scared for her and isn’t coping well with the fact
that he is losing her. Lowkey lighting is used making the scene dark,
which not only lets us know its nighttime but because the scene is
serious, and darkness can symbolize death. However, the girl is under a
slightly dimmed white light, which brings most of the attention her way,
as well as it could mean she is pure as the color white symbolizes purity.

22. How is meaning created?
• The scene starts off with a close-up shot of a tea mug, pouring nothing into teacups, with a soft but
creepy score playing. As the scene continues and the three little girls are having a fun little tea party,
we can tell they are happy through their smiling facial expressions, but the score continues to play,
giving us a sense that something bad might happen. A long shot/POV is then used, where all three of
the girls suddenly look at something with a poker face. This then cuts to a medium shot of them
looking the other direction, where another cut is used to show what they are looking at (a window).
This increases tension as we do not know who or what they were looking at, why their facial
expressions have changed and why they looked at the window. All three of them stand up in unison,
drop their doll and teacup and a close-up shot of them individually stepping on their toys or props is
used. A medium shot is then used showing all three walk towards the mirror from the mirror’s point
of view. They all had a poker face with so emotions in their facial expressions. A long shot is then used
as all three of them step close to a window and open it at the same time. This gives us an impression
that they are not acting normal and are being compelled to do something they aren’t aware or have
no control of. The volume of the score increases, which increases tension. As the three girls jump, the
score reaches a high volume and stops, and a scream is heard. In summary, we are shown three little
girls having fun not only because they are having a tea party but because their facial expressions show
that they are content. As the medium shot of them playing cuts to them staring at something, their
facial expressions immediately change to a serious face. The editing and camera shots used were to
show what they were doing and focused on detail, and sound/facial expressions were used to show
the emotions of the characters.

23. Genre:
Genre is a style or category of films, music, art etc. Genre can be referred to films and
putting them in different categories simplifies what the viewer enjoys watching. For
example, action, comedy, horror, drama and romance. Different media texts have
codes and conventions that define their genre and set up audience expectations.
Features associated with a genre's style and content may be, for example, a particular
setting, character types, technical codes (lighting or music).
Audiences recognize these features and therefore expect certain things. For example,
at the end of a romantic comedy film the two lead characters will realize they are in
love.
A producer of a TV crime drama will likely feature police characters, crime scenes,
suspects, victims and violence. Audiences will also expect certain audio codes such as
tense, dramatic music.
However, a genre is not static. It changes all the time, resulting in sub-genres and
changing codes and conventions. Sub-genre is a sub-category of a specific genre. It
breaks down those categories into more defined subjects

25. Action/ thriller subgenres

26. Genre theory
People believe that some problems with genre is that there isn’t enough to categorize all
movies. The number of genres will change depending on the diversity of society. Genres
change when transitioning from poem to play to theatre to movie etc.
Most theories of film genre are borrowed from the literary world. The basic genres include
fiction and documentary, from which subgenres have emerged, such as docudrama
Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference. He states
that the film and its genre is defined by two things:
How much it conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must
match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert
convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.

27. Rick Altman's theory
 Rick Altman's theory suggests that audiences can identify a particular genre
through two different elements. These two are called semantic and syntactic
elements.
 Semantic elements are physical objects they can be seen by audiences that
automatically represent or indicate that the media product is of a certain genre.
For example, a gun placed on the table may signify that the media product is
under the action genre, or if there is blood shown somewhere, it could convey the
media text as one under the horror genre. Semantic feature are often considered
"obvious" indications for genres. The same features are present in documentaries,
and certain codes can help illustrate sub-genres.
 syntactic elements are less obvious, and they often represent feeling, themes and
emotion that aren't so clear to establish. Feelings such as anger, love or hate are
considered syntactic elements, and these are processing that audiences could feel
and understand. Portraying emotional themes may be harder to show as they
aren't physical things that can be seen or touched; therefore it can be harder to
notice.

28. Example of Semantics and
syntactic of different genres

29. Representation:
 Representation in media is how they portray characters. They often represent different ethnicities, race,
religions… in a stereotypical way. However, these stereotypes can be challenged.
 Examples of ethnicity stereotypes
 Middle east- Before 9/11 Middle Easterners and Muslims faced cultural and religious stereotypes and were
often seen as villains in movies. After the incident, this stereotype grew. Arab citizens were portrayed as
uncivilized, dangerous and even terrorists in movies. The list goes on including them being abusive, violent,
sexist and controlling over their wives. Despite the negative stereotypes they are also rich in some movies.
Where they would wear a gown and have a lot of jewelry on them. The ones who weren’t as wealthy would
ride camels and live in the desert.
In this movie, ‘you don’t mess with the Zohan’, there are countless stereotypes of Middle eastern people. From
eating hummus with everything to being terrorists and having feuds amongst each other. As well as Arabs who are
living in America either own or work in a falafel/ shawarma shop and most of them having history with each other.

30. Latino
Latino women are represented as beautiful, exotic and hot tempered. This
stems from the way that most famous Latina ladies in all mainstream media in
the past are presented this way. One of the first Latina ladies to emerge off
this stereotype was Carmen Miranda. A straightforward google search will
show you that the greater part of her photographs incorporate her wearing a
natural fruit hat which shows her as 'tropical and extraordinary’.
Although nowadays most Latinos in the USA are born in the United States and
are citizens, they are still represented as immigrants and 'steal jobs' from
working Americans, this stereotype has been reinforced from racist and
bigoted views of Americans
They are represented as being in drug cartels, possibly linked to Pablo
Escobar. Pablo Escobar was one of the largest drug lords in history and sold
most of his product in America. He was Columbian, which links to the
stereotype that Latinos are drug dealers as people would have learnt about
him and made up an image of the rest. Many immigrants have had to resort to
crime to get by.
They are represented as servants. When Mexicans were originally immigrating
to America, they would resort to any job available to them. These were mainly
working-class jobs such as gardeners, handymen and small-time mechanics.
This might’ve based the stereotype of all Mexicans being gardeners or
servants.


31. Asian
Asians are stereotypes as being highly intelligent and get accepted to
the most pristine universities globally. Ironically, they do this because
they believe that the prestige of this will shield them from
discrimination. The stereotype began when Asian immigrants were
initially praised for their strong work ethic in the gold mining and
railroad industries in the 1800s.
In action movies, the Asian character would be the brains of mission/
good with technology. Whereas in drama films they would be wealthy
and sometimes will play as strict parents
People use to call them 'model minorities' to describe the image of the
Asian immigrants as those had prevailed despite racial prejudice and
won success in the US based on, they're personal determination and
work ethic.
A highly common stereotype that has been passed on for a while is
that all Asians look the same despite being from different countries in
Asia. As well as most of them knowing martial arts.

32. Native Americans
 When he landed in the Antilles, Columbus referred to the resident peoples he
encountered there as "Indians" reflecting his purported belief that he had
reached the Indian Ocean. The name stuck; for centuries the native people of
the Americas were collectively called "Indians" in various European languages
 The term 'red Indian' or 'redskin' was largely used in the 18th/19th Centuries,
partially based on the color metaphors for race which colonists and settlers
used in North America and Europe. This was also a way to distinguish Native
Americans from the Indian people of India
 Red Indian is an offensive term for a native North American. In North America,
the term is now considered a racial slur
 Stereotypes:
- wears feathers
- face paint on their face
- Savages (uncivilized)
- very superstitious

33. Alvarado's theory
 Alvarado's theory suggests that there are four main types of characters that would be
presented. The humorous, dangerous, exotic and pitied. They can also have a racial
stereotype.
 The pitied- The way the characters would be represented, creates a feeling of pity to the
viewers. When adverts or documentaries are displayed for African children and families
dying in poverty, the impression this gives off to the audience creates a feeling of pity. It
makes the audience feel as if they should help them and creates an atmosphere of pity.
 In the movie ‘up’, the old man was first shown living a very happy life with his wife. After
she passes, we can see how miserable he gets. The audience would feel sorry for him and
it is somewhat upsetting. He was represented as happy, which then turns into him being
the pitied.

34. Dangerous
 They are represented as dangerous and can often make the viewers fear
them. Characters can also be linked to a racial or ethnic group. For
example, a character could be represented as a thug and would most
likely be African-American. They would be stereotyping black people as
being thugs, making the audience relate their behavior to the ethnic
group. It is more likely that a film would represent criminals or gang
members with African- American men. However these stereotypes may be
challenged by having different racial or ethnic groups represented as
such. The audience wouldn’t expect a gang made up of mostly white
people as they are portrayed as being more friendly.
Humorous
 The Humorous are represented as being the funny and loved
characters. They give the audience a sense of joy. In ‘The
Simpsons’, a character called ‘Groundskeeper Willie’ is conveyed
as heavily Irish through his thick accent and bright red hair. He
has many humorous lines and accidents that conveys him and his
ethnicity as people who are humorous and should be
stereotyped this way.

35. Exotic
 The exotic are represented as the beautiful characters. Ethnic
groups can be shown as exotic, like Latino Americans are shown
to be sex symbols and rather exotic through racy costume and
controversial behavior.
 In the show ‘modern family’, a character called Gloria who is
originally from Columbia but started living in the United states
and got married to an American is represented as exotic. This is
a stereotype that Latino women are pretty and wear revealing
clothes such as tight dresses. Later throughout the show, we
learn that amid all her beauty, she is intelligent, understanding
and is more then what people judge her to be. This challenges
the stereotype of her being a ‘sex symbol’ or is present for the
purpose of male gaze.

36. Women
 Over the years, the way women have been represented in media
has changed. There is a huge difference between the way Men
were represented in contrast to women.

37.  In the 1950’s women were represented as motherly, pure, weak and
domesticated. This was a patriarchal view. Meaning male dominance and that
male ideologies are a precedent in society. This is hegemonic; males have
dominance. It was part of the cultivation theory as women watch what is being
represented and believe that is how they should behave.
 There are other views as well, such as, the matriarchal view; Female dominance.
Female ideologies are a precedent in society.
 Hegemony is a term that was used by Antonio Gramsci, a philosopher, journalist,
linguist, writer and politician. The term means leadership or dominance and
Gramsci used it to show how the dominant class can share their ideologies so
that the subordinated believe that it is common sense. In this context, females
were subordinate.

38. Feminism
Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.
Women began to question the patriarchal society they were living in and began to
challenge and eliminate oppression and that there shouldn't be a dominant gender.
Through many ways such as movements, they began fighting for gender equality, fighting a
phallocentric ‘common sense’ and creating alternative ways for viewing the world.
Eventually, the world started seeing woman more as an equal. The way they were
represented started to change. Many films portrayed women as the leader, powerful and
dominant character, which challenged the stereotypes. As more of these were made, the
cultivation theory took effect, and many were influenced and believed that women can do
the same things men can do and should be treated the same as well.
Supergirl (1984) was the first movie to feature a female superhero as the
lead character. This challenged many female stereotypes.

39. Binary opposites
 Levi Strauss, a French anthropologist in the 1900s, proposed a theory of 'binary opposites’. It infers that in media,
whether it’s books or films, contain opposing main characters. These help further the narrative; and introduce
contrast. For example, in a superhero film this could be good vs. evil, in a drama film it could be rich vs poor.
However, a problem with binary opposites is that it can have negative stereotypes. It could be man vs woman. The
man could be portrayed as powerful and the woman as prudent. These stereotypes have changed in media over time
as the worlds view on women changed too.
Male gaze theory
 Women not having a narrative function but rather being present for the purpose of display. This is objectified for a
male gaze, no matter of the viewer's gender. Including a voyeuristic treatment of female body’s in male videos,
meaning the erotic pleasures gained from looking at a sexual object. Women watching would feel the need to look
the same or as exotic as what is being portrayed. This is part of the cultivation theory. Women would think that this is
normal and feel like it is how they are supposed to behave or look.
 Even in today’s date, magazines such as GQ represent Men and women in different ways. It is unlikely to have a Man
shirtless, but Women would pose as in a bikini or show off their body in some way. This shows us that they are being
objectified for a male gaze.

40.  Meaning is understood by the audiences as the director creates a (tense) scene of an intense hostage situation.
A wide high angle shot is used at the start, making the people who are tied up look vulnerable. An armored
guard wearing all black shows us that amid them being tied up, it’s a hostage situation. It also reflects on the
seriousness and danger of what is happening, which creates tension. A slow and drawn out non diegetic score
was playing, which was used to create tension. It gets louder when the Arab guy confronts the hostages on their
doings and mimics the sound of a gun shot when he shows her an image of a dead man. Through the dialogue
we can infer that the situation is very serious as the characters being held hostage are threatened if they do not
obey the commands of the Arab guy. We can see the fear through the facial expression of the hostages, which
increases tension as we are convinced that they could potentially die.
 Stereotypes are both challenged and conformed to in this scene. At the beginning, the Arab guy is being
presented as a terrorist which conforms to the stereotype. However, he is well dressed and speaks proper
English, meaning he isn’t ‘uneducated’. He wears Jewelry which implies that he is rich, (an Arab stereotype) and
is wearing a suit showing us he is sophisticated. Throughout the scene, many close-up medium shots were used
when he was talking. This allows the audience to mainly focus on the words he is saying and his facial
expressions. Through his facial expressions we can tell that he is hurt over the loss of what might be his family,
giving us the impression that he has feelings just like the rest. He starts to talk about the wrongful doings of the
hostages and even implies, ‘we will not humiliate you as you do your own captive.’ The audience can see that
the hostages are just as bad if not worse, and it enables us to sympathize for the Arab guy as he isn’t seen much
of a terrorist which challenges the stereotype.
 It is interesting that the director has decided to challenge stereotypes in this scene which he did for both the
Arab guy and the woman. Woman are stereotyped as soft and weak, but in this scene, she speaks bravely, hence
challenging the stereotype. The camera cuts to her face using a close-up medium shot showing that she has no
emotion. During the dialogue, the Arab guy even mentions ‘you read those words with no emotion’, showing us,
she does not break easily and remains strong and calm during intense life-threatening times. Women are seen
as damsel in distress and weaker than men, however her cold and ignorant attitude, gives us the impression that
she is even stronger than the other male hostage who we can tell feels more under pressure.

41. Audience:
 ‘Audience’ is the term used to describe many
unidentifiable people, who usually united by their
participation in media use such as concerts,
performances and film.
 The audience have a loud voice that is heard by all
producers. They rate, consume and inform and
decide whether the product would be a success or
not.
 Not everyone in Audiences agree to the same thing.
Some might like a certain film and others might
dislike it. the producer would aim to have most of the
audience like it for it to be a success.

42.  During the early/mid 20th century an idea came
to place called the effects model. It suggests
that audiences are passive at the mercy of
whatever the media tells them. Audience being
active participants in the exchange of media.
They use it to satisfy their needs.
 Around 1970, researchers such as Bloomer, Katz
and Mikhail made links between Maslow’s
hierarchy needs and how people use the media.
How our needs such as social connection and
self esteem are gratified by the media.
This is broken down into 4 things and is called the uses of gratification theory.
Personal identity
Personal engagement
Escapism
Surveillance/information

43. Personal identity
 The audience relate themselves with a character. They might have a lot in
common or are facing/ faced the same problems.
 If the audience can relate to a product or character, they would be more
engaged. This is important for producers as they are using some realism
for the audience to connect with the character.
 In the movie ‘Joker’, the life of a mentally ill character is represented. They
show us the different mental illness he has and how they make him
respond and act. The causes of his situation are from how society has
treated him. Audience could relate to him as they could have gone or are
going through the same thing. They would feel his emotions, understand
his thoughts and find themselves standing is the same shoes as him. This
gets them more engaged as the character is representing real life
situations. Many people would be living the same.

44. Personal engagement
 Personal engagement occurs when the audience form an attachment.
Having a favorite character they love to watch and knowing so much
about the character as if it was a real-life person. Audiences are more
likely to form an attachment when a show has been streaming for
years. They watch the characters grow and accomplish many goals.
 The show modern family streamed for around 10 years. The audience
watched all the characters change throughout time. A character called
Luke grew from being a little boy to a man who’s in college. As well as
a character called Hailey who went from being an irresponsible
teenager to getting a Job, being married and having twins.

45. Escapism
The term escapism is the tendency to
seek distraction and relief from
unpleasant realities, especially by
seeking entertainment or engaging in
fantasy.
These days, audiences use the media to
get their mind off things. Its sort of an
escape from the real world. They can
spend hours playing a game or
watching a show. This can be
therapeutic for some and is relaxing
too.

46. Surveillance/information
 The audience acquire information, knowledge and
understanding by watching programs like the news or
documentaries. Films based on historical events/figures
are also informative as they are recreating what
happened in the past even though it isn’t always fully
accurate. It gives the viewers some detail and idea of
what happened. The news gives them knowledge of what
is happening around the world.
 The bachelor is an example of surveillance as it’s a
reality tv show where the audience get to observe
what the contenders. They are getting an insight
of the reality stars’ lives and which person from
the group will end up marrying the one person of
the opposite gender is.

47. Audience theory
The audience theory is broken down into three contexts. Moral panic, cultivation
theory and hypodermic needle theory.
Moral panic:
Feeling of fear
A threat to the values and interests of society.
Events can be exaggerated by the media, making them seem worse than they
are. An example would be:

48. Hypodermic needle theory:
 Negative images
 Causes groups of people to perceive themselves in a different
way.
 Manipulation
 The mass media injects thoughts, values and beliefs into the
audience, which influences them and maybe change their
opinions. Example :

49. Cultivation theory
 Long term effects of television.
 The more time we spend in the television world, the more
likely we believe that reality aligns with the reality they
portray in television.
 Example:

50. Psychographic categories- types of audiences

51. Age: Teenagers/ young adults mainly watch this show. This is
because older people wouldn’t necessary be interested in a
romantic vampire show.
Gender: both male and female would watch this as it shows us
the love life of the vampires, which mostly girls would like and
has a lot of action involving fights and killing, which keeps the
guys interested.
Nationality: The show is set in America and almost all the actors
are American. The nationality of the audience are mostly
American.
Ethnicity: Even though there are more white characters, there
still is quite a few whom aren’t. the audience watching the
could equally be both.
Location: Set in America, the audience could be mostly
American as they would relate with the place.
Social economic group: There is very little emphases on money
as the characters have an ability to compel people into doing
whatever they want. However they would mostly relate to
class as they do not spoil themselves or buy very expensive
things

52. Narrative:
 Narrative is the media term for story telling. It is the way the different
elements in a story are organized to make a meaningful story. Some of
these elements can be facts as in a documentary, or characters and
action as in a drama.
 We see that stories throughout the media share certain characteristics.
This often links them to genre. Different media tell stories in a variety of
different ways.

53. Todorov’s narrative theory
Todorov’s theory has three main parts:
 The text begins with a sate of equilibrium – everything appears to be normal or calm.
 There is disruption- this is often a threat to the normal situation, or it could be just a
setback.
 A new equilibrium is produced to end the narrative. In the best narratives there is
change for the better perhaps in the main character’s behavior or outlook on life.
 He suggests there are five stages to how the narrative progresses: 1. The equilibrium
must be carefully shown (otherwise the disruption may not be dramatic enough to
create a strong plot) 2. There is a disruption 3. There is a recognition that a disruption
has happened. 4. There is an attempt to repair the damage done by the disruption. 5.
A new equilibrium is achieved.
 He also entails that narrative is not seen as linear, but as circular. The narrative is driven
by the characters’ attempts to restore the equilibrium, although the result is not quite
the same as the beginning.

55. Popp’s theory
 He proposed ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types or
‘spheres of action’. One character may be in more than one sphere of action.
Example from the movie ‘Shrek’

56. Star wars and Aladdin example